Best Practices for Privacy

Introduction

Cypher enhances on-chain privacy by severing the connection between deposit and withdrawal addresses using zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). However, achieving robust anonymity hinges on how users engage with the protocol. Below are essential guidelines to optimize your privacy and mitigate risks of exposing identifiable data.

Wait for Sufficient Subsequent Deposits

Your anonymity level is influenced by the volume of transactions following your deposit, visible via the pool summary section. Withdrawing immediately can allow observers to link your deposit and withdrawal based on timing cues.

• Best Practice: Delay withdrawal until a substantial number of deposits have occurred after yours to strengthen your anonymity set.

Choose the Most Active Anonymity Sets

Privacy within Cypher operates on a probabilistic model—the larger and more dynamic the anonymity set, the greater the privacy protection.

• Best Practice: Select pools with high transaction activity and volume, as merging into larger transaction clusters reduces the likelihood of correlation.

Use Fragmented Deposits

Anonymity sets with larger denominations often experience lower activity, increasing the risk of tracking. Rather than placing a large amount into one pool, consider dividing it into smaller denominations across multiple pools.

• Best Practice: Favor smaller, highly active anonymity sets to enhance privacy while maintaining cost-effectiveness.

Avoid Predictable Deposit and Withdrawal Patterns

Depositing and withdrawing an identical number of transactions, such as exactly seven each, establishes a detectable pattern that undermines your anonymity. Observers may correlate these actions, even if the protocol itself does not connect addresses.

• Best Practice: Vary the quantity of deposits and withdrawals over time to avoid one-to-one correlations.

Use Multiple Wallets for Withdrawals

Consistently withdrawing to the same wallet enables observers to trace a connection across your transactions.

• Best Practice: Employ multiple wallets for withdrawals, using newly created addresses with no prior interaction with your primary wallet, and refrain from reusing withdrawal wallets for other activities.